The Pro Life Campaign yesterday made a submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health in relation to the Bill that the Committee is considering on exclusion zones outside abortion facilities.
The bill seeks to prohibit peaceful pro-life vigils in the vicinity of abortion facilities, establishing an exclusion zone of 100 metres in radius around “all healthcare premises” in the country. This includes all GP clinics despite the fact that close to 90% of GPs are not providing abortions.
In its submission, the Pro Life describes the proposed new law as “a deliberate attempt to criminalise the peaceful conduct of citizens who hold views which oppose abortion”. They also described the bill as “wildly disproportionate”.
The bill proposes prison sentences and/or fines of up to €25,000 for anyone in breach of the proposed new law. The PLC submission points out that due to the bill’s broad scope and the extent to which it infringes on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, it will “most likely not withstand a challenge before the Irish courts or before the European Court of Human Rights” in the event that it becomes law.
The submission also takes issue with the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly for ignoring the advice of the Garda Commissioner that such a new law was not needed to protect public safety and for instead relying on pro-abortion advocacy groups for advice, even going so far as publicly thanking them for ‘informing the development of legislative proposals’.
The submission states: “For the Government to set out alleged risks of pro-life demonstrations without the presence of an underlying evidence basis is a very significant oversight. That policy intending to criminalise certain behaviour is being formulated with an absence of evidence is troubling and indicative of prejudice.” The submission also points out that no similar law exists at a national level in any other country of the European Union.
Pointing to the sweeping nature of the Bill, the submission states: “Under the proposed legislation, if a person (friend, partner, family member etc) accompanying the woman for an abortion revisited their conversation outside the abortion facility on whether to proceed with the abortion, the person accompanying the woman would be in breach of the law for expressing an opinion on the matter, highlighting the absurdity, unforeseen consequences and ill-conceived nature of the law.”
In a press release to the media about the submission, Eilís Mulroy of the Pro Life Campaign said: “Freedom of expression and assembly are cornerstones of democracy and international human rights law. Our submission to the Health Committee sets out in detail why the bill on exclusion zones is a draconian, discriminatory and totally unnecessary proposal in response to pro-life citizens holding peaceful vigils in the vicinity of abortions facilities. It seeks to single out pro-life people and criminalise them is a totally unfair and prejudiced way. The Government is prioritising this unjust bill while ignoring the issue of Ireland’s spiralling abortion rate. It is a scandal that women contemplating abortion are not being offered even basic information prior to the abortion, about alternatives to abortion or the range of practical supports available.”
And she concluded: “We will oppose the bill on exclusion zones every step of the way and we encourage everyone who believes in civil liberties and basic freedoms to join us in ensuring this discriminatory bill never becomes law.”
Obianuju Ekeocha, President of Culture of Life Africa, is doing phenomenal work exposing the scandal of Western governments making their support for African countries conditional on these countries agreeing to introduce abortion - something she very appropriately calls "ideological colonisation".
Watch this troubling but highly informative interview with Obianuju which she kindly took part in when visiting Ireland last weekend.
Applications are still open for the ninth course of the Future Leaders Programme.There will be a combination of online and in person events, a day-long studio programme in Dublin, and a trip to Leinster House.
The course is designed specifically for the next generation of pro-life leaders, and students/young adults can apply for a free place on the 8 week course here.
If you are aged between 18-35 and wish to apply to participate, please complete this application form and we will get back to you. If you know someone who might benefit from this course please forward this email to them.
There are 15 sponsored places available for suitable participants.
The people of Chile have voted overwhelmingly against a new constitution that would have opened the door to abortion and dismantled the current legal protections for unborn babies.
In a decisive defeat for pro-abortion forces, the new Constitution was rejected by 62% of voters. Article 61 of the proposed new constitution explicitly permitted abortion.
At present, Chile has robust legal protections for unborn babies.
We are very pleased to announce that Irish born Dr Dermot Kearney will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Pro Life Campaign National Conference which takes place in the RDS Concert Hall on Saturday 12th November from 12-3.30pm. This event was originally scheduled for Saturday, 8th October but will now take place on Saturday, 12th November.
Please note change of date for this event
Dr Kearney, who has saved many unborn babies from the brink of abortion, will talk about his work assisting mothers to reverse the effects of the first abortion pill, his recent vindication by the UK’s General Medical Council following a series of complaints made against him by pro-abortion campaigners, and his plans for the future to make the treatment known as Abortion Pill Reversal much more widely available.
To hear Dr Kearney talk about Abortion Pill Reversal and the plans for the future to make the life-saving treatment more widely accessible, register hereto attend the PLC’s National Conference 2022. Seating is limited so be sure to register today to avoid disappointment!
More information, including about other guest speakers, will be available in the coming days.
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is expected to make a decision very soon on whether to end or sanction the continuation of telemedicine home abortions.
In a very distrubing new finding, 15% of women in the UK said they experienced pressure to go though with an abortion they didn't want to have.*
The HSE in Ireland recently acknowledged** that coercion is MORE likely to occur when abortions happen remotely.
Telemedicine abortion is anti-woman as well as anti-baby.
Take one minute to send an INSTANT message to your TDs asking them to urge the Minister for Health to immediately STOP telemedicine abortion now that Covid 19 measures have been eased in every other area.
Would you like to experience working with a pro-active Human Rights organisation?
If you would like, APPLY HERE to our exciting virtual intern programme for students!
Participants on the programme will have an opportunity to network with other young people and develop skills in advocacy, campaign management and project planning.
Internships run for one-week periods and are suitable for second level (Transition year or older) and third level students.
Each intern will do 4 hours supervised work each day and will be working on areas such as social media, contact with members of the movement nationwide, project planning and contributing to support work for women and their babies.
Internships are not paid, however expenses will be covered.
If you or a family member is interested, please complete the below form and we will be in touch with you presently. Placements are subject to availability.
Vital Signs is the e-newsletter of the Pro Life Campaign. We hope you and your families are keeping well in these unusual times. This email is to update you on what we have been working on recently, including news stories, project updates, and details of upcoming events. If you want to get in touch with us please do so by emailing [email protected]
